Isn't it best to lose weight the natural way, through diet, exercise, and nutritional supplements? Not necessarily.

Losing fat increases your metabolism and makes weight management easier, so any weight loss supplement that causes you to lose fat without actually harming you is a good thing.

Keeping that in mind, here are some weight loss supplements that actually work.

COENZYME Q10

It may be that many people who are overweight are deficient in Coenzyme Q10. In one study of obese subjects, 52% of the men were deficient in Coenzyme Q10. When they were supplemented with 100 mg of Coenzyme Q10 a day, along with a low calorie diet, the men who were deficient in Coenzyme Q10 lost 29.7 pounds, whereas those with normal levels of Coenzyme Q10 only lost 12.76 pounds.

Considering all of the other excellent benefits of Coenzyme Q10, it's definitely worth trying.

CHROMIUM

Oddly enough, chromium supplementation has been shown to lower body weight at the same time as it increases lean body mass. In another study, subjects who were given 400 mcg of chromium picolinate lost 4.2 pounds of fat and gained 1.4 pounds of lean body mass over a period of 2 1/2 months.

Now, why would this be?

In clinical studies of diabetics, it has been found that chromium increases insulin sensitivity. Since increasing insulin insensitivity is critical in promoting weight loss, it makes sense that chromium would promote fat loss. One last interesting tidbit about chromium. Apparently, it can be depleted by eating refined sugar and refined carbohydrates, such as white flour, and by lack of exercise as well. Sounds suspiciously like the modus operandi of the average overweight person, doesn't it? Hmmm.

COCONUT OIL

Saturated fats, such as those in red meat and dairy products, are normally to be avoided in weight loss programs. Coconut oil is a saturated fat, but it actually promotes weight loss! How can this be?

It appears that coconut oil has a different molecular structure than most saturated fats. Whereas the carbon chains in most saturated fats range in length from 18 to 24 carbon atoms (long-chain tryglycerides or LCTs), the carbon chains in coconut oil range from 6 to 12 carbon atoms in length (medium-chain tryglycerides or MCTs). Apparently, the shorter carbon chain saturated fats in coconut oil are easier to metabolize than most saturated fats.

For example, one study compared a high calorie diet containing 40% MCTs versus one with 40% LCTs. The authors found that the thermogenic effect of the MCTs was almost twice that of the LCTs, with 120 calories burned by the MCTs versus 66 calories by the LCTs . (Thermogenic refers to the amount of calories burned simply by consuming food.)

In a follow up study, the authors concluded that supplementation with MCTs over a six day period increased thermogenesis by 50%.

In yet another study, researchers compared single meals of 400 calories composed entirely of either MCTs or LCTs. The MCTs increased thermogenesis three times more than the LCTs. Amazingly, the MCTs had no effect on fat levels in the blood. The researchers concluded that using MCTs instead of LCTs would result in weight loss, provided that the calories remained the same.

You know, I was just at the store and couldn't stand to spend the money on coconut oil. It's like 10 bucks for a 16 ounce jar. But I'm going back and getting it, anyway.

Simply substitute coconut oil for the oil you normally use in cooking and salad dressings.

5-HTP

A series of double blind studies conducted at the University of Rome showed that 5-HTP does indeed promote weight loss. In the first study, the women taking 5-HTP consumed fewer calories and lost weight even though they made no attempt to eat less. The next study in the series sought to discover if 5-HTP helped the subjects to adhere to dietary restrictions. In the first 6 weeks of the study, there were no dietary restrictions. In the second 6 weeks of the study, the subjects were placed on a 1200 calorie diet. The women who took the 5-HTP lost 10.34 pounds, whereas the women who took the placebo only lost 2.28 pounds. In the third study, which was structured similarly to the second study, the women who took 5-HTP lost 11.63 pounds at the end of 12 weeks, versus 1.87 pounds for the placebo group. In all cases, the women taking 5-HTP reported feeling satisfied by eating less food than they usually did.

The reason for this may be that the women either are eating diets low in sources of tryptophan or lack an enzyme that converts tryptophan to 5-HTP and subsequently to serotonin. If there are low levels of serotonin in the brain, the brain senses starvation, and stimulates appetite. Supplying ready made 5-HTP bypasses the problem and literally seems to turn off hunger.

As a bonus, the only side effect reported for 5-HTP at 900 mg a day is mild nausea.